Reversible blouse



Sept. 18, 1956 GROSS 2,763,011

REVERSIBLE BLOUSE Filed' Jan. 13, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. NEDWARD N. GROSS BY v A T TORNE Y8 Sept. 18, 1956 N. N. GROSS REVERSIBLE BLOUSE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 13, 1955 INVENTOR. NEDWARD N. GROSS slaw/M. M

A TTO RNE YS Sept. 18, 1956 N. N. GROSS REVERSIBLE BLOUSE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 13, 1955 nvvlroze.

NEDWARD N. GROSS ATTORNEYS FIG/2 REVERSIBLE BLOUSE Nedward N. Gross, Shaker Heights, Ohio Application January 13, 1955, Serial No. 481,506

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-106) This invention relates generally to wearing apparel, but has reference more particularly to a womans blouse.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a blouse for women which may be worn either side out, whereby a change is provided, without the necessity of wearing a different blouse.

Another object of the invention is to provide a blouse of the character described, having pockets accessible from the front of the blouse, irrespective of which side of the blouse is worn outwardly.

A further obiect of the invention is to provide a blouse of the character described, which presents a finished, and neat and attractive appearance, irrespective of which side of the blouse is worn outwardly.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a blouse of the character described, which has a novel pocket construction embodied therein.

Gther objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. i is a front view of a blouse embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view, showing the first step in the construction of the pockets of the blouse;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the second step in the construction of the pockets of the blouse;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view showing the method of attaching the patch pocket to the blouse;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view, taken on the line 7-7 7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modification of the pocket construction;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on the line 9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but of the modified pocket construction;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 6, and

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on the line 13-13 of Fig. 12, and showing the modified pocket construction.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive of the drawings, reference numeral 1 designates generally a womans blouse, which includes front portions 2 and 3, a back 4, sleeves 5, shoulder portions 6 and a collar 7, these components being sewn together and finished in such a manner that the seams and hems present a finished appearance whether the blouse is worn as shown, or turned inside out, and worn in this manner. The blouse,

tates Patent in other words, is a reversible garment, and irrespective of which side of the garment is worn as the side remote fromthe body of the wearer, the garment has a finished, neat, attractive appearance.

Since the blouse is designed to be worn as a reversible one, there is nominally no inner or outer side of the blouse. However, for the purpose of explaining the invention in detail, the outer sides of the body portions 2 and 3, as seen in Fig. 1, will be designated as the outer faces, and the inner sides 2 and 3 of these body portions as the inner faces.

The reversibility of the blouse, although dependent to some extent on the fact that the various components are sewn together in the aforesaid manner, is dependent primarily on the novel pocket construction which I have provided, whereby access to the pockets may be had from the outside of the blouse irrespective of which side of the blouse is worn as the side remote from the body of the wearer. The pocket construction will now be described.

The body portions 2 and 3 of the blouse have elongated horizontally-extending openings 8, which provide access openings to pockets 9 formed by sewing patches 10 to the inner faces 2 and 3 of the portions 2 and 3. The edges of the openings 8 are surrounded by edging or trim pieces 11, the marginal edges of which are sewn to the outer faces of portions 2 and 3.

The steps in constructing the pockets are illustrated in Figs. 2 to 7 inclusive, to which reference should now be had.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the blanks from which the edging or trim pieces 11 are formed are laid over the inner faces 2 and 3' at the position where the access openings 8 are to be provided and slits 12 are simultaneously formed in the blanks and in the body portions 2 and 3, each of these slits terminating at both ends in divergent short slits 13, which form substantially triangular areas 14 therebetween. At the same time, the blanks are sewn to the body portions 2 and 3 by parallel lines of stitching 15 and 16 which extend between the outermost extremities of the slits 13.

After the slitting and stitching have been performed, the portions of the blanks which are above and below the lines of stitching and those portions of the blanks which extend beyond the ends of the lines of stitching are pushed or turned through the slits 12 and 13 and are flattened out against the outer faces of the portions 2 and 3 of the blouse, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The operation of pushing the portions of the blanks through the slits is facilitated by reason of the divergence of the slits 13, which permits the edges of the slits 12 to be spread apart to a limited extent, the triangular areas 14 being pushed aside in the operation.

The marginal portions of the flattened portions of the blanks are then provided with narrow hems 17, which are disposed against the outer faces of the portions 2 and 3 of the blouse and are secured to such faces by means of stitching 18, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The areas between the lines of stitching 15 and 16 thus become the access openings 3 to the pockets 9.

The edging or trim pieces 11 formed by the aforesaid blanks may be of any desired contour or size, and of a color or design which contrasts with the body of the blouse. Moreover, portions of these trim pieces may be embroidered with any desired design, or may be imprinted with any design.

The pockets 9 are formed by sewing patches 10, to the inner faces 2' and 3' of the blouse portions 2 and 3. These patches are of more or less conventional shape, and are preferably sewed to such faces by a line of stitching 19, the ends of which terminate at points 20 and 21 which are substantially at a level coinciding with the level of the openings 8, so that the patches have loose flaps 22 at their upper end which are left unsecured to the blouse, and which facilitate entry into the pocket 9. It will be noted that the patches 19 extend vertically to an extent such as to conceal the openings 8 when the blouse is worn with the patches remote from the body of the wearer. The patches may be ornamented in any desired manner, as for example, by sewing a button 23 thereto.

In order to permit the blouse to be worn either side out, the marginal edges of both portions 2 and 3 are provided, as shown in Fig. 7, with buttonholes 24, and with links 25 insertable through these buttonholes, the links being, of course, removable.

in order to avoid formation of too large a gap at the openings 8, a modification of the invention may be enipioyed, in which these. openings are provided with piping or binding pieces which fill the gap to a certain extent, and present a neater and more attractive appearance for the blouse. This modification is illustrated in Figs. 8 to 13 inclusive, and will now be described.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, instead of laying the blanks, from which the edging or trim pieces 11 are formed, directly over the faces 2' and 3', piping or binding pieces 26 are interposed between the faces 2 and 3' and the blanks 11. Each of these binding pieces consists of a rectangular strip of fabric of a length such as to extend somewhat beyond the ends of the divergent slits 13, as shown in Fig. 8, and folded, as at 26a, so that the raw edges 27 of the folded strip are aligned with the slits 12 which are to form the opening 8. The blanks 11 and piping or binding pieces 26 are then sewn to the body portions 2 and 3 by parallel lines of stitching 15 and 16 which extend between the outermost extremities of the slits 13.

After the stitching has been performed, the portions of the blanks which are above and below the lines of stitching and those portions of the blanks which extend beyond the lines of stitching, as well as those portions of the piping or binding pieces 26 which are above and L below the lines of stitching, are pushed or turned through the slits 12 and 13 and are flattened out against the outer faces of the portions 2 and 3 of the blouse, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the operation of pushing these portions of the blanks and piping pieces through the slits being facilitated by reason of the divergence of the slits 13 which permits the edges of the slits 12 to be spread apart to a limited extent, the triangular areas 14 being pushed aside in this operation.

The marginal portions of the flattened portions of the blanks are then provided with hems 17, which are disposed against the outer faces of the portions 2 and 3 of the blouse and are secured to such faces by means of stitching 18, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. The areas between the lines of stitching 15 and 16 thus become the access openings 8 to the pockets 9.

It will be noted, however, that the portions of the piping pieces 26 which were above and below the lines of stitching 15 and 16 (Figs. 8 and 9), extend beyond 4 the edges formed by the lines of stitching 15 and 16 and provide piping or binding which is visible through the opening 8 formed by these areas.

The pockets 9, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 are then formed by sewing patches 10 to the inner faces 2 and 3' of the blouse portions 2 and 3. These patches are of more or less conventional shape, and are preferably sewed to such faces by a line of stitching 19, the ends of which terminate at points 20 and 21 which are substantially at a level coinciding with the level of the opening 8, so that the patches have loose flaps 22 at the upper end, which are left unsecured to the blouse, and which facilitate entry into the pocket 9. Here again, it may be noted that the patches 10 extend vertically to an extent such as to conceal the openings 8 when the blouse is worn with the patches remote from the body of the wearer. The patches may be ornamented in any desired manner, as for example, by sewing a button 23 thereto.

It is thus seen that I have provided a blouse for wonr on, which may be worn either side out, whereby a change is provided, without the necessity of wearing a different blouse; that the blouse has pockets accessible from the front of the blouse, irrespective of which side of the blouse is worn outwardly, i. e., remote from the body of the wearer; and that the blouse presents a finished, neat and attractive appearance, irrespective of which side of the blouse is thus worn outwardly.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention, herewith shown and described, are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a reversible blouse, a patch pocket permanently sewn along its sides and bottom to one face of the front of the blouse, said pocket having its upper edge unattached to the blouse, so that said pocket is accessible through its upper end when the blouse is worn with said face of the blouse outwardly, said blouse having an opening extending generally parallel to the upper edge of the pocket extending through said front below the upper edge of the pocket through which access from the other face of the blouse to said pocket may be had when the blouse is worn with said first-named face inwardly.

2. A reversible blouse, as defined in claim 1, in which said opening is bounded by trim which reinforces and imparts an ornamental appearance to the second-named face of the front of the blouse.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,168,395 Horn Jan. 18, 1916 1,780,874 Freidmann Nov. 4, 1930 2,072,030 Damron Feb. 23, 1937 2,282,545 Rosenstein May 12, 1942 2,388,516 Altobelli Nov. 6, 1945 

